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NMSU grad student helps with celebration of the women's movement

New Mexico State University public history graduate student Tracie Shane, of Seneca Falls, N.Y., worked as a summer intern at the Women's Rights National Historic Park (WRNHP) and helped commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Sentiments, the document that started the women's movement.

The WRNHP is located in Seneca Falls, the birthplace of the First Women's Rights Convention which took place in 1848.

Shane assisted in various conferences and had the opportunity to meet Hillary Clinton, who was a guest at a descendant's reception that Shane organized.

"I felt it was extremely important for the First Lady to come to the Women's Rights Park in honor of the 150th anniversary," Shane said. "Her support of the park and descendants encourages the present fight for the rights of women."

Shane moderated two sessions, "A Transformation in the Fashion of the Nineteenth Century: Special Focus on Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Amelia Bloomer" and "The Stuff of Women's History: Using Artifacts, Landscapes, and Built Environments to Research and Teach Women's History in the Classroom."

Shane also conducted oral histories, "spoken memories and personal commentaries of historic significance through recorded interviews," with the descendants of the signers of the Declaration of Sentiments. Descendants were asked about genealogy, influence of ancestry and any existing material artifacts from their ancestors.